Is It Possible Or Do I Have To Be Older???

I have been a diabetic for 9 years in October and im only 13 (14 in Sep).I have only grown up around needles doctors and hospital beds.Over the last 2 years i have been in hospital over 35 times not joking and i was wondering, instead of in out in out of hospital without me or the doctors knowing whats wrong (but they do know its related to my diabetiese) am i too young to have a pancreas transplant even if i had to fly to another country to have it done or would there be any reason why i couldnt....?

I've heard about the transplants. The problem with transplants is the risk of your body rejecting the new organ. So you will have to take pills your whole life to suppress your immune system so it doesn't attack the new organ.

And what you should also remember is that the pancreas does more than just produce insulin, it produces other things that your body can't do without. So if your body does reject the new pancreas, you could be taking insulin plus be in a lot more trouble.

You're still young ... I would suggest you wait. Scientists are working on a way to transplant organs without the risk of rejection and all the pills.

PS ... my 2 year old daughter was diagnosed with type 1 a few months ago ... so I really do feel for you. I'm hoping when she's older she'll be able to get a new pancreas too.

im really sorry to hear baout this sweetie! my partner has diabetes. Because your young u would obviously need your parents consent. and they mite not do it because your not fully developed like an adult is? Speak to your parents about it.

May I ask you a question? Is there a possibility that an insulin pump could do what you need? Properly adjusted pumps are supposed to put out the same rate of insulin that a normal pancreas would...kind of like an artificial pancreas without all the problems of rejection and side effects of antirejection drugs that a pancreas transplant or any other type transplant would create. If you and your parents and your doctors have not talked about this that might be a place to start. These pumps do work for teens and preteens and they can sometimes make a big difference depending on the physical situation.

I am very concerned that you have been in the hospital that much,. That is very unusual for even a child with Type 1 diabetes. It makes me wonder if there are other underlying problems or if you and your folks need more help learning about the ways to manage your blood glucose (aka blood sugar) nutrition and insulin needs, activity levels etc. Even at 0 insulin production regular monitoring and using an as needed insulin supply (or a pump) should allow most young ppl to be relatively healthy and not have to go through so much. Please ask your doctor about diabetes education programs near you and see if there is a diabetic teen support group in your area too.

Here are some sites especially for young ppl with diabetes. Some include info about camps for kids and teens that specialize in helping ppl be healthy even tho they have diabetes.
http://www.diabetes.org/communityprogram...
http://www.childrenwithdiabetes.com/camp...
http://spectrum.diabetesjournals.org/cgi...
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/dia...
http://www.drgreene.org/body.cfm?xyzpdqa...

The idea of being totally rid of the problems from diabetes is very appealing but transplants can often bring more problems so although your situation is obviously very serious you and your family and doctors need to consider if there are less ibvasive and complicated ways or if a transplant is the best answer for you.

I am sorry to learn of your condition. My first daughter developed type I diabetes at age 6, and I believe one of the reasons she did well as that she had a really good pediatric endocrinologist to whom we were referred by UCLA. But she also had a number of hospitalizations along the way. She did make it through college, and is presently working in a responsible position in a district office of a major insurance company. So, I do have some first-hand knowledge of what you and your parents have been going through.

If your physician does not know whether you might be a candidate for a pancreatic transplant (and I hope you are seeing a pediatric endocrinology specialist), then you could do some research online to find where the centers are where such transplants are being done (there are only a few in the US). You or your parents could contact the nearest of those centers to find out if you might be a candidate for pancreatic transplantation, although the center would most likely need for you to be referred by your own treating physician.

From what you have mentioned, it sounds as though your diabetes may be brittle, and you are having problems with blood sugar control. Make sure you are doing all you can to stay within the guidelines for best management of your diabetes, and if you aren't seeing a pedictric endocrinologist, I hope you can start seeing one. Management of brittle or unstable type I diabetes is not easy, even for a specialist. I believe the help such a specialist might be able to provide could help keep you out of the hospital so frequently, and that would make it financially worthwhile for you and your parents. Maybe you and they are far ahead of me, and you are already seeing such a consultant, are on an insulin pump, etc.

Pancreatic transplantation is a major procedure, and there are risks and complications that could be very challenging. So it should be regarded at present as a last resort, still regarded in most places as an experimental procedure and only to be the last step to be taken after everything else has failed. It is expensive and necessitates very extensive treatment afterward.

The risks include the possiblity of rejection of the pancreas (host vs graft disease) and the possibility that the transplanted pancreas could reject you (graft vs host disease), the need for immunosuppression of your own immune response, the risk of more frequent infections since your own immune system has to be partially suppressed, and even an increased risk of certain types of cancer, probably for the same reason.

If you do receive an donor pancreas, I will join the many others who hope that you will have the very best possible result. In the meantime, make sure you are doing everything correctly to control your own disease as well as possible. My daughter always got into trouble when she thought she could eat like the other teenagers did.

well i dont see why you couldnt do it, although its alot of money. you've been a diabetic for a while, 9 years, one year different then me. maybe you could try doing the annoying things the doctors tell you (not saying you dont), and maybe exercise, eat right, check sugars constantly....all the bs of diabetes. I for one hate diabetes, and it took me a while before i started listening to them. the question is, what if you get this done and it doesnt help?